Shahryar - And more you shall get :V You're basically the only commenter here either way, sigh, sometimes I question myself over why do I even bother publishing a fic with so little recognition xD
Revival Celebration Day
The first thing they have to do is to clean up the one and only straggler. It's not like he can do a lot, besides his quirk is almost entirely about defense, so against so many enemies he could as well be quirkless, but… let's not leave any loose ends.
"Apocrypha, be a sweetie and kill Shieldbearer for me, alright?" Midoriya announces. The hero in question readies up his quirk. He is remarkably stalwart, despite the massacre that occurred around him.
Apocrypha remembers her role. And she truly and honestly enjoys fucking with heroes. Making it even more complicated for them to figure out what the hell's her deal is a pleasure to her.
"Of course, oniichan." She replies while patting her skull focus on the staff. Whose skull was it? Was it… his? No way, right? But Aiko was a sucker for grimdark aesthetics, and that was the closest you could get for having a lich's skull as a staff focus. Hell, it'd basically be the demon lord's skull. "I'm low on friendship power, so I'm gonna need some headpats after this."
"Everything for my beloved younger sister." Midoriya smiles. He isn't joking nor exaggerating, despite clearly acting. "Do it."
"Familiar Summoning: Big Bad Wolf." Aiko announces, while pointing her staff at Shieldbearer. What emerges from it isn't a wolf. More like a mouth of one, impossibly long and twisting in the air like a whip. Very few people in modern Japan would recognize where she got the idea for that particular attack.
Old classics die hard.
The vaguely wolf-like abomination cleanly bites off Shieldbearer's head. The fountain of blood paints Thunderbolt red. He is still staring at the collapsing corpse of his living shield in horror when Quicksilver is suddenly behind him.
"I promised your daughter some… family bonding if she joins me." Midoriya lies with a thoroughly straight face. He needs to throw the Mindscape at least somewhat off-guard. He has another goal altogether in kidnapping Thunderbolt. One connected to Eri's present whereabouts. "Might include some quality torture. See you later, Thunderbolt.
The former Rank Two Hero is tased into unconsciousness. Then she begins to push him towards one of Cloud's warpgates. Then Midoriya speaks again.
"Apocrypha, I suddenly got an idea." He didn't. It's been long decided. But acting is important right now. "UA is close. And if we're already here, let's realize one of our father's dreams. Destroy the main building, then get back here for evac." He loathes referring to All for One as his father, but… acting. Yeah.
"Alright! But I'm getting my cuddles for that, oniichan." She gives him a thumbs-up gesture and a rather sweet smile before flying out of the building through the hole in the wall that her attack made.
In all honesty, this part is mostly because Izuku refuses to let UA's good name be tarnished anymore. The fact that HPSC dared to have people like Thunderbolt where teachers like Eraserhead or Present Mic once were fills him with a homicidal rage.
The HPSC changed the best hero school in the country, All Might's alma mater, into a breeding ground for more obedient dogs of the state. He wouldn't let that stand for even a minute more.
He is no longer the apathetic shell of a man that he was for years. Good job, HPSC, for making him live once more. Now time to bear the consequences.
Cloud began to warp back their forces scattered throughout the USJ. He isn't Entropy. He isn't leaving anyone behind. Both because he refuses to lose useful assets (he only has very few of those after all) and because the risk of the government piecing the Overlook' location out of the captives' minds is a bit too high for his taste.
(***)
14 Days Before Revival Celebration
"Alright, let's assume that things go according to the plan." Trumpet says. "Which is a very big stretch, although not one entirely impossible. I assume that you'll want to exit the scene properly."
"Define, properly." Midoriya replies. "I… honestly don't think that I had a good plan for that, save for having my sister carpet bomb the UA facilities." He's certainly going to enjoy seeing the results.
Hopefully, the teachers will make it in time with the evacuation. Midoriya isn't going to cry over a few dozen dead students. He generally doesn't cry about things anymore. But he'd prefer to avoid that, if possible.
"I think I have an idea." Trumpet says. "It'll need some work, but… when it comes to inciting the crowd, I'm an expert."
(***)
Revival Celebration Day
"And now, back to you." The camera-noumu's location is on Midoriya again, transmitting his words to Japan as a whole. "At the beginning, I would like to sincerely apologize for those of you whose children ended up witnessing this… significantly R-Rated events. I can only hope that you told them to leave the room in time."
He smiles. Yeah, make people more confused. Make the police, heroes and Mindscape think he is weirder than he actually is. Why not? Part of him is going to enjoy the chaos.
"Ten years ago, the first Paranormal Liberation War started." He continues. "Today, we have announced the start of the second one. However, we all know how ugly the first one was. Let's not make the war into another years-long slugfest. I really don't think that the country can take it."
It's mostly because he doesn't have the resources to do so. Of course, Mindscape will deduce it almost immediately. There is a very large chance that she was watching it right now, already coming to a correct deduction.
Of course, most of the people will buy Midoriya's version of events. As the old saying goes, the lie will circle the world thrice before the truth will put its boots on. They'll think that the limit he's about to set is because he made such a brilliant plan, not that they'll run out of money and resources if they try to continue it for longer than this.
"So, now that the Revival Celebration is mostly behind us, let me announce what's going to happen next!" Midoriya smiles at the cameras once again. "In exactly one hundred days, the Liberation Festival will happen. If by the time it ends the government will still exist, me and my compatriots will all turn ourselves in. But in the meantime…"
Yes. They can't do it on their own. They'll need chaos. And Midoriya is about to provide them with a lot of it.
"It's time to begin our preparations for this great event!" He smiles while spreading his arms around. He feels like a preacher now. He had a long and detailed discussion about it with Trumpet. He even rehearsed the whole thing a few times. "So first, a few questions to you."
He inhales deeply. The feeling of preaching to the crowd grows in intensity. Then again, he is about to do exactly that.
"Do you hate your current life?" He asks. "Do you hate what our government has become? Is your kind discriminated against? Do you mourn All for One's fall? Or, alternatively, you loathe what happened to the heroics after All Might's death? If you answered 'yes' to any of these questions, you're welcome to join us in this joyous celebration! How to do that?"
He leans forward, once again giving a conspiratorial look… but this time, at the camera. And millions of Japanese people on the other end of it.
"Go out there." He says, this time smiling cheerfully. "And kill someone. A hero, a police officer, a government official, it doesn't matter. Blow up the local government' office. Throw a pipe bomb through the window of the hero agency. Set the police precinct aflame. In short: anarchy is the word for the day."
Chaos. That's what the current PLF needs. Chaos in the country. It doesn't matter that the government has a hundred times their numbers and resources if most of them will be bogged down dealing with other threats.
"Do your part!" He adds, pointing his finger at the camera." Feel free to use the name of the Paranormal Liberation Front if you want. Use the name of our member organizations if you want, too! If you'll be good enough, they'll contact you and offer you regular membership in our great family! The more you achieve, the higher your standing will be, so do your best!"
Ah, the smokescreen caused by assassination attempts, riots and whatnot done by people using the PLF name but without any actual connections to their organization… wonderful. He can only hope that a lot of people will go for it. Because with how weak the actual PLF is, they'll need all the smokescreen that they can get.
But considering the amount of pent-up hatred for the government, he is rather optimistic about it. Especially once the PLF starts repeating the driving the message home. Every subsequent attack will weaken the government's image, making more people go for it.
"And as for our beloved government, the heroes and the police…" His smile is one born of mockery now. "... be afraid. Why?" He chuckles, his hand on his forehead forming the L letter. The old salute of the Meta-Liberation Army, later on adapted by the PLF as a whole. "Because we are here."
The feed cuts. The deed is done. The war has begun.
(***)
14 Days Before Revival Celebration
"Right." Midoriya nods. Trumpet is, after all, a former politician. "We'll talk about details of that speech later. For now, we're going to have a long debate about operational details. We have only two weeks to make sure that nothing will go wrong badly enough to derail the whole plan."
"Wonderful." Yaoyorozu looks vaguely pumped-up about this. "I have so many ideas…" Looks like Midoriya wasn't the only person who missed working on big things. Or, perhaps, in her case it was more of a yearning to finally do something really big?
In Midoriya's opinion, running a small criminal empire was woefully under her level of competence. You could say the same about Mastermind, to be honest. They were both getting wasted with what they were doing normally.
So much genuine potential that remained unused. They needed Midoriya to show them a bigger picture.
(***)
Revival Celebration Day
"Alriiight!" Mei shouts. "I'm ready!" The QLF trooper she 'borrowed' for the occasion is clearly unhappy about it, but he seems to have realized that there is little that he can do to one of the PLF's executives.
She is posing right next to the beheaded corpse of Greenflame, the hero that she killed. Her leg is on the corpse's shoulder, holding it in a sitting position. Her sniper rifle is by her side, and she is making a victory sign towards the camera.
The QLF soldier snaps the picture. It makes Mei look like a corrupt CEO posing next to an endangered animal they just shot dead during a safari.
That's when Counterfeit announces that they're pulling out. The injured were already evacuated through Cloud's warpgate. Some of the soldiers were busy putting their dead comrades in body bags and evacuating them as well.
Songbird was busy looking for still active heartbeats that didn't belong to the PLF members. Making sure that they stopped. While Hatsume was busy being photographed, Jirou was busy pushing a blade into the eye of the half-dead hero. Which was a step up from her using her quirks to liquify insides of the last one.
To each their own.
Less than two minutes later the last of the PLF troopers retreats from the area. The clean-up's concluded. And so is the battle.
(***)
The final tally of the casualties during the PLF assault on the Unforeseen Situation Joint:
SS-Rank Heroes - 4/4 KIA.
S-Rank Heroes - 16/16 KIA.
A-Rank Heroes - 56/62* KIA, two retired due to injuries and/or trauma.
B-Rank Heroes - 27/37* KIA, four retired due to injuries and/or trauma.
Students - 7/80* KIA.
Guests [Politicians and Journalists] - 47/60 KIA.
PLF permanent casualties estimated at below thirty combatants, including two A-Rank villains. Majority of the casualties came from the QLF's soldiers attacking the plaza. Exact numbers impossible to be determined due to the PLF's hackers destroying the recordings from the USJ's security system and taking all their injured and dead with them.
*The numbers do not include the casualties resulting from Apocrypha's strafing run against the UA main building.
(***)
The final tally of the casualties during the PLF assault on the Tartarus prison:
S-Rank Heroes - 3/4 KIA.
A-Rank Heroes - 66/71 KIA, 1 Defected.
Regular Wardens - 1674/2000 KIA.
PLF casualties estimated at around one hundred combatants. Unlike the USJ attack, here the casualties were spread more equally between the sub-organizations. However, like in the case of the USJ attack, the exact number was impossible to be determined due to the PLF purging the security recordings and evacuating as many of their injured and dead as possible.
78% of the inmates warped out of prison, 14% died, 8% were left behind due to not making it to the evacuation points in time.
(***)
The first thing that Midoriya does after the PLF forces return to Overlook is to pull Tsuyu into an unused room in the Overlook. Then he pins her to a wall, their lips and tongues meeting for a longer while.
He pulls back a bit eventually. She looks at him up close, her cheeks red.
"W-what happened, ribbit?" It seems that she is very happy about whatever happened, she just wanted some explanations.
"... it's probably me being very, very weird…" Midoriya replies. It most likely is, he is acutely aware of that. It's one of the things that he prefers to keep to himself… especially when Eri was close. "... but what you did to Mr. Blast was one of the hottest things I ever saw."
She lets out a ribbit. A very interesting sort of a ribbit. The situation is made even more interesting after he lets his hands wander a bit. She is wearing her villain uniform, yes… but so does he. And honestly, it fits quite well considering the circumstances.
"You know, I did tell you that I needed the deaths during the Hammer Down to be… artistic." Midoriya adds, after pulling back a tiny bit. "But you went quite Plus Ultra on that, you know? I think you've earned a reward."
"Tell me more." She replies, her adorably big eyes still on him. The atmosphere is clearly getting to her as well.
Besides, Midoriya probably isn't the only one riding off a wave of relief that everything went well. He might be a villainous mastermind, but it's not like a plan working out perfectly is a given. In fact, things rarely work fully as intended.
Revival Celebration seems to have worked well enough. If you exclude the failure to eliminate Valiant on arrival, and the fact that the PLF clearly suffered more casualties than they expected. It was, honestly, close to 90% of the best case scenario.
Midoriya will know for sure once they'll get a proper tally of the casualties. And estimates on how much time it'll take for their injured to return into combat.
"Nope." Midoriya suddenly takes a step back, smiling wryly at her. "We'll get back to that in the evening."
"Tease. Ribbit." She replies. Her pouting face is… adorable. Heartwarming, really. Seeing it up close reminds Midoriya of Mr. Blast's death, and it only makes it better.
He should… probably try to rein himself in a bit. It's… he never fully recovered from what he went through in the past, didn't he? He might be appearing outwardly functional, but deep inside he's as fucked up in the head as Aiko is.
He shouldn't let himself turn into another Entropy. But it's not like there is a therapist out there that he can actually visit. He'd probably have to kill whoever he would choose after a session or two due to them now knowing too much.
And if he didn't tell them the whole truth, it's not like the whole therapy business could get anywhere.
"You like me that way, don't say that you don't." He replies. Tsuyu ribbits loudly. "I'd gladly continue it right now, but we have to finish the job. Tally the casualties, make sure that the prisoners we got out don't tear the Overlook apart or anything like that, and so on. Also celebrate."
"Celebrate, ribbit?" She looks vaguely interested in the concept.
"We won't be making any moves for the next few days." He replies. "We need the heroes and Japan to stew up a bit in the aftermath. Realize how much the world changed. See what they'll do before making another move. At least a week of silence. So, naturally, I expect that we'll have the time to deal with the prisoner issue and celebrate things properly."
"Not what I asked about." She decides to correct him. "How are we going to celebrate what we did?"
"Barbeque, probably." Midoriya replies. She gives him an odd look. "Mastermind is an asshole, but his quirk lets him calculate everything perfectly. His grilled sausages are to die for."
"Ribbit." Is all that he gets out of her. She puts her finger by her lip. She looks oddly confused.
Huh. Was what he said weird? Is he even the right person to judge what's weird and what's not? Probably not. So let's ignore it entirely.
He has a girlfriend, he has a major lead to follow up on Eri, he just dealt a massive blow to the government. It's time to celebrate.
Especially as it's probably the last major operation that they managed to pull off without losing anyone important. The next time they meet, the government's dogs will know that the PLF exists. They'll have their quirks analyzed and potential tactical counters prepared.
(***)
Eight Years Ago
Thunderbolt wakes up. He feels… groggy. Dazed. Confused. He can't feel his legs. He can feel a sharp pain in his back. He is lying on the floor of what he vaguely remembers to be his office at the top of the Storm Chasers Agency.
What happened? What the hell…
"Finally awake." He hears a voice. He turns his head to see a young man sitting on his office chair. Messy, purple hair, large eyebags. Wearing some casual clothes with something akin to a white robe on top of it. On his neck, a small metal collar with a red dot blinking on it… is that a camera? "Took you long enough."
"Who the fuck are you? What are you doing here, you…" Thunderbolt tries to speak, but the man doesn't let him.
"I'm Hitoshi Shinsou." He replies. "A-Rank villain by the name of Mindhack. Wanted for the murders of pro-heroes Nightshade and Red Wing." He sighs. "Do you remember that junk-filled beach two and a half years ago, Thunderbolt? The day when you helped those two assholes kill a 'villain quirked' girl? For no other reason than their own sick amusement?"
Thunderbolt's eyes grow wide. He…
"Her name was Himiko Toga." Shinsou continues. "I helped her escape from Nightshade a few weeks ago. Then we lived together for a moment. I always wanted to be a hero, you know? And for her, I was. And then you murdered her." He shakes his head. "I thought that I was going to die of my illness soon back then, but it turns out that spite is one hell of a fuel. And so, here we are." He shrugs.
"The second I can stand up, I'm going to…"
"You won't." Shinsou doesn't let him finish. "I severed your spinal cord. Your legs are never going to move again." Thunderbolt blinks at him a few times. He can't mean…"I could have killed you right now. He certainly suggested it to be the best course of action, but… that would be a mercy, wouldn't it?"
He? Who the hell is 'he'?
"So I'm going to let you live, Thunderbolt." Shinsou continues. "Because I have a feeling that this is going to be much more painful for you further down the line. Call it a hunch. Or an oracle from a dead man who for some season is still walking." He chuckles. "I really think that you're all going to regret pissing him off yet letting him walk away. Probably more than you can all imagine. Shame that I won't be there to witness the result."
He pulls out a knife. White robe, knife. Thunderbolt's mind makes the connection. He isn't…
"See you on the other side, Mr. Number Two Hero." Hitoshi Shinsou says. "I'll be waiting for you." Then he pushes the knife into his own abdomen, cutting it vertically from left to right.
The seppuku ritual is concluded when his collar is remotely detonated. Mindhack is instantly decapitated, and all evidence that could point to whoever helped him sneak into the Storm Chasers Agency is destroyed.
Thunderbolt was still staring at the headless corpse in shock when his sidekicks found him.
(***)
Night before the Revival Celebration
Ibara Shiozaki finished packing her things. The Paranormal Liberation Front was amassing its forces for tomorrow's attack. And she was expected to join it. Pretty much at the last minute, because Midoriya failed to equip enough regular members so he had to reach out.
When he asked around, Ibara volunteered. She had a score to settle with the government as well. It was going to be her final act of villainy - doing so much damage to the government with it was going to be a perfect way to end that part of her life.
Her hopes of sneaking out of the building quietly were quickly dashed aside. She heard a faint gasp, and when she looked in the direction of it, she saw Mitsuru's head sticking out of a doorframe.
She was rather small for a twelve years old. Not eating enough before being found by Midoriya's organization didn't help. Hopefully it was going to change. She had a bit of a growth spurt recently, and…
"A-are you leaving?" The girl looks terrified of that fact. Of course she is. Her parents abandoned her after she was diagnosed quirkless, so seeing her caretaker sneak out at night had to aggravate her trauma.
Great job, Ibara.
"Not for long." She replies honestly. "I should be back by evening. Food's in the fridge, I instructed Takumi what you're supposed to be doing while I'm gone." Takumi was sixteen years old and the closest thing they had to someone actually capable of getting things done. Except for Shiozaki, of course. .
"O-okay." Mitsuru still looks worried. So Ibara motions her to get closer, and when the girl does, Ibara hugs her.
"I'm not leaving you behind, I promise." She says to the trembling girl in her arms. "But what I'm going to do might be dangerous. So I need you to be brave for me, alright? Be brave, listen to what Takumi tells you to do, and pray that everything will go well until I'm back."
"I will!" The girl replies, suddenly looking much more determined.
Ibara Shiozaki had to choose between law and conscience thrice in her life. The first one was when she realized what the HPSC was doing to the heroics, and how little justice there was left in that business. She chose conscience and left.
The second time was when a ghost from their past approached her and invited her to his villainous organization - that was doing something much more heroic than what most of the modern heroes were doing. She chose conscience and decided to help him.
The third time was when the Paranormal Liberation Front was going to raise again, in order to strike the blow against the corrupt government - and not only avenge Crucible, her fellow caretaker, but also take back the children that the HPSC kidnapped. And once again, she chose conscience.
Most of the PLF was composed of some very unsavory people, but she trusted Midoriya. There were ten kids in this building, each of them with a backstory that no person should have. And she was ready to kill to give them a future in which they could live happily.
(***)
RIP Shinsou. He only lived past the Takoba Beach out of sheer spite and desire for vengeance, and when he decided that succeeded with it... I guess he didn't have anything else to live for, especially when both sick AND a villain. On the other hand, that's a very Top Chad way of ending your life, ngl. Especially that particular form fo suicide after being a hero wannabe but then 'disgracing' yourself through villainy.
You might say a lot of stuff about Shiozaki but I'm 99% sure that being this morally rigid makes it feel like she'd be among the first ones to go 'nope' if the government and the heroics started being questionable. Of course, where it brought her is still rather... problematic. Then again, it's just the times she's living in.
[if you're curious about Aiko's 'summon', google 'Trevor Henderson Basement Wolf'.]
This isn't the end of the arc. The next chapter can be summed up as 'reactions'.